By the turn of the century, nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favour of English, Spanish or Mandarin.
We wanted to celebrate these disappearing languages and the great work of natives & experts keeping their heritage alive.
@peregrinstudio
Ume Sámi
Spoken in Sweden & formerly Norway.
10-20 native speakers left.
Livonian (Extinct)
Native language of the Livonian people,
North-Western Latvia.
Last native speaker died 2013.
Chamorro
Native to the Marina Islands (Guam).
Listed as 'Critically Endangered' by Unesco due to little transmission to younger generations.
Old Prussian (Extinct)
Spoken across Prussia (modern day Germany).
Language classified 'Extinct' in the 1800's.
Aleut
Spoken in Aleut Alaxsxa,
(the origin of the state name Alaska).
Estimated there are fewer than 100 speakers left.
These words are to be celebrated, they’re proof of the hard work by many to save rare languages. There are great initiatives working to document and protect languages, and preserve the culture woven into it.
Thanks for checking it out
&
Merry Christmas.
